The American Heart Association (AHA) recognizes outstanding early-career faculty with the Career Development Award, a grant program designed to help launch their careers as research scientists. This year, the grant has been awarded to Chaowapong (Chao) Jarasvaraparn, MD, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine specializing in pediatric gastroenterology at Riley Children’s Health. The award will support Jarasvaraparn’s research on children with Fontan-associated liver disease (or FALD), a form of liver damage that occurs in people who have undergone the Fontan operation for single-ventricle heart defects.
The Fontan operation is a type of open-heart surgery performed when the heart ventricles are not functioning properly. In the United States, it is typically performed between two and five years of age. Typically, the right ventricle pumps blood into the lungs to obtain oxygen, and the left ventricle pumps the blood with oxygen to the body. In hearts with one ventricle that is too small to complete its task, the other ventricle not only has to pump blood to
the lungs, but also to the body, resulting in oxygen-poor blood.
Jarasvaraparn’s new AHA award, which is a highly competitive grant, provides protected time, mentorship and essential funding to early-career investigators developing innovative, impactful studies in cardiovascular and related fields as they transition to independent research roles. As a junior investigator, establishing independence is one of the most critical and challenging stages of an academic career.
“This award is especially meaningful because it recognizes both the scientific merit and the future potential of my work,” Jarasvaraparn said. “The AHA Career Development Award not only validates my research direction but also provides the resources and structure needed to deepen my work and build a sustainable research program.”
Additionally, this support allows him to meaningfully contribute to the Fontan-associated liver disease field by pursuing questions that bridge clinical care and translational science, ultimately improving outcomes for children with Fontan’s surgery. The program also connects Jarasvaraparn to the AHA’s network of mentors and collaborators, enabling him to integrate cutting-edge tools — such as spatial transcriptomics and artificial intelligence — with clinical data in ways not yet applied to this disease.
The future for FALD patients
Jarasvaraparn is driven to transform care for children with FALD by shifting from reactive treatment to a preventive, precision medicine approach.
“Caring for these children and families is incredibly motivating. Many of them have already gone through multiple surgeries and challenges early in life,” Jarasvaraparn said. “Knowing that this research could help us better predict, monitor and ultimately improve their long-term outcomes is what drives me every day.”Jarasvaraparn’s research has revealed that almost all patients who have endured a Fontan procedure develop some degree of liver damage. Currently, there is no reliable strategy for predicting who will get worse.
“I’m trying to ‘map’ what is happening inside the liver at a very detailed level,” Jarasvaraparn said. “It’s almost like creating a Google Maps view of liver cells to understand the earliest signs of damage.”
By combining this detailed biological information with clinical data, he aims to develop better ways to detect liver disease early and predict which patients are at the highest risk.
IU School of Medicine and Riley Children’s influence
IU School of Medicine and Riley Children’s are highly collaborative and thus uniquely positioned to support this work. Outstanding resources in genomics, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence, combined with a culture of mentorship and teamwork, allow for the integration of complex biological and clinical data.
“We have access to a large, well-characterized population of patients with Fontan circulation, along with strong clinical programs in both pediatric cardiology and hepatology,” Jarasvarparn said. “I also work closely with experienced mentors across multiple disciplines, which helps ensure that this project is both scientifically rigorous and clinically meaningful.”Leaders in hepatology, cardiology and translational science at IU and Riley have played a pivotal role in shaping Jarasvaraparn’s approach to research.
“I am supported by a truly multidisciplinary mentorship team, including Drs. Jean Molleston, Brian DeBosch, R.M. Payne and Suthat Liangpunsakul,” Jarasvaraparn said. “Their diverse perspectives have been invaluable in helping me develop a well-rounded and collaborative approach to my career as a physician scientist. They have also taught me how to think rigorously, ask meaningful questions and focus on work that has real clinical impact.”
To train under mentors who are not only outstanding scientists, but also deeply committed to patient care and mentorship, has helped Jarasvaraparn grow. He has also learned how to build strong collaborations and remain resilient, both of which are essential for long-term success in academic medicine.
Final thoughts from Jarasvaraparn
Jarasvaraparn’s advice to aspiring physicians is to stay curious, be persistent, seek out strong mentorship early and remain open to asking questions and pursuing new opportunities.
“Choose research questions that truly matter to you because that sense of purpose will carry you through challenges. Staying committed and sincere to your work has been key to moving forward,” Jarasvaraparn said. “Building a supportive network is just as important as developing technical skills. Remember that progress in research can be slow, but even small advances can ultimately make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.”Jarasvaraparn’s long-term goal is to transform how children with complex conditions like FALD are cared for by shifting from reactive treatment to early detection, risk stratification and prevention. He is particularly interested in building a research program that integrates advanced technologies with clinical data to develop practical, clinically applicable tools. Along with his ongoing research, his team is currently leading a national multicenter collaborative focused on pediatric Fontan-associated liver disease, with 35 centers participating across the United States.
“If this work can help even a small number of patients avoid severe complications or improve their quality of life, that would be incredibly meaningful,” he said.
